EZ Caps

Ok I have some cider fermenting with the e-z caps and e-z cap yeast for 24 hours. The botlles are firm and it looks like it is going well. I also have some sarsaparilla carbonating using regular bottle caps and champagne yeast. I followed the directions extremely carefully and used a digital thermometer when pitching the yeast. The sarsaparilla bottles are not firm yet. Is this a problem? Should I try the e-z cap yeast next time?I am going to one of my local brew shops tomorrow to pick up some malt, ale yeast, and hops if the malt is unhopped. Is there a way to tell when the yeast is done fermenting because, I would rather not add anything to the beer to stop fermentation and I would like to bottle it? Can I clarify outside of the fridge and then bottle it or should I clarify in the fridge first? Also, if I am fairly certain that the yeast is dead, can I store the bottles out of the fridge after claryfying the beer and rebottling? Will this ruin the taste?I am also picking up some grolsch style flip top bottle to bottle since the glass is thicker. These are them:E-Z Cap Flip Tops or Flexicap Cobalt --- In E-Z-Caps@yahoogroups.com, ""Willum"" wrote:>> WoW!, Lots of questions, and that's great!>> You will get getter beer flavor using ale yeasts. Ale yeasts> typicaly have about 6-8% alcohol tolerance. They will usually brew> to completion in about a week or so. The EZ cap yeast yeast more> resembles a champaign type yeast, in that the yeast has an alcohol> tolerance of about 15-18% when you let it brew out completely.> Getting more alcohol means more time, to the tune of about 1% ABV> (Alcohol By Volume) per day.>> Refridgeration:> Refridgeration does NOT stop fermentation, it just slows it down.> Cold kind of hibernates the yeast, but it doesn't kill it. There are> a couple of ways to kill the yeast 1. Alcohol poisoning - different> strains of yeast have different alcohol tolernaces. When the yeast> makes enough alcohol that its environment gets to its tolerance, the> yeast dies. 2. Starvation - when the yeast runs out of sugar to eat,> it dies. 3. Heat - If the yeast gets up to a certain temperature,> like 150 degrees Farenheit, it'll die. Unfortunately, this severely> affects the flavor of whatever has been brewed.>> There is a way to stop fermentation if the brewing process> hasnt ""naturally"" killed the yeast. You can add preservatives like> potasium sorbate or sulfites to your brew. This is the way most> commercially produced wine is stabilized, but it presents 2 problems.> By adding chemicals to the wine, it changes the flavor. Maybe not> much, but some. The other concern is a lot more important. Some> people are allergic to the sulfites that are used to kill the yeast.> If you do use sulfites to kill the yeast, make sure you tell everyone> who tries your beverage that it contains sulfites. Be sure to label> the bottles as well.>> Refridgeration does slow down fermentation enough that you can> store ""unfinished"" brews in the 'fridge. Do not store ezcaps on> their side, they WILL leak. That's what they are designed to do, let> stuff out when there is sufficient pressure. If you are going to> store stuff on it's side, remove the ezcap and put the regular cap> back on it. As long as it's in the 'fridge, you should be OK.>> The ""best"" malt extracts are a matter of personal preference, like>ORGINAL POSTER: eezzcap